Winter Sheephead
 

I have heard winter is the best time to catch sheep heads. Are the jetties the best place when fishing the Calcasieu area. I know they are not a highly targeted fish and they are a pain to clean for such a small fillet but the flavor is worth it! Any recommendations?

The jetties / old jetties. You can catch a few by the rocks around the weirs. Small sturdy jig head and piece of shrimp but just enough to cover the hook good but don't use a big shrimp cuz they will rob you.


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Plus it would be a blast! I think they are pretty cool. I have no recommendations for you though lol

We pick up the odd sheepie at the jetties. We like to use a shrimp under a cork cast as close to the rocks as we can put it.

It's a one or two kinda thing while we mainly target bull reds.

You can fill a box with them at the jetties. Get a bunch of cheap jig heads. (You will break off a lot )Tip with a piece of shrimp and throw close to the rocks. Follow it all the way down and when you feel it hit a rock lift up and bring it back to you let fall again and repeat until you are out away from rocks. If you pay attention and don't let it settle in the rocks you won't get hung up as much. I love eating sheepshead but never really target them anymore.


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I blackened some and served the fillet covered in shrimp cream sauce and everyone said it was the best red snapper they had ever eaten. I usually cook snapper so when dinner was over and I told them it was speephead nobody believed me. And fried, they are lights out! It's too bad it almost requires a chainsaw to get to the meat.

I caught 4 in one day on a spinnerbait while fishing for reds along the rocks lining the ship channel. But, That was in May and I couldn't find many all summer.

I always caught them on accident. I thought they were trash fish untill I cleaned one. Nice white meat very mild tasting.

Clean them backwards and go around the rib cage and it ain't too bad. Still no fun but not as bad as conventional style.


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So start from the tail and fillet toward the head? Then end at the rib cage instead of cutting through it?

Yeah. Then you can just kind of go over the top of the rib cage instead of cutting through it.


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Redfish can be cleaned like this too. Your knife is running under the scales instead of slicing thru them.

I use a straight knife for everything. I fillet them conventional direction, but fillet around the ribs. Really not too bad, you just need a long knife for big ones once you get past the ribs. They are good eating.

This is how I do my reds. never cleaned a goat, but i would guess it works.

To each his own, I like to get everything possible from anything I kill. I'm not in a rush.

http://youtu.be/DlwfKBsgImg





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That is awesome! I gotta catch some fish to practice! Haha


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I would never waste that much time on a redfish lol

X2....I love to eat redfish but I "waste" alot of meat to make sure I cut all the red meat out. Same reason I usually don't keep any over 23"

Then what would you waste that much time on?

Trout elitest say the same thing, then blaze through them leaving all that tender belly meet for the hardheads.

What fish would deserve your time?

Do you belly filet bass?


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Haha I usually never keep keep fish to start with. I only keep them when I go with someone who wants them. Reason is I hate cleaning then, and honestly I'm over the taste of most fish. I guess that's what happens when you ate fish nearly every night for years and years

Sheep heads are my favorite fish to catch and eat... Don't fish cal but Cocodrie we have been doing real well...


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If u can truly enjoy eating what u clean then it is worth it. So many fish are great to eat.

Are there any regulations on em?
How big do you guys keep em before they get to be not as good anymore?


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No size or creel limitis and they all pretty tasty, even the larger one.

If you see a dock along a canal with some barncacle covered pilons drop you bait right next to it. Shrimp tipped jig head 3' under a cork.

Sheepshead - 16 inches and 5 per person here in Texas. No size or creel limits in La.

So the sheepies like to hang around rocks and structure?

Anything that has barnacles.


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You can have all the sheephead you want here in La, less than 5% of fisherman keep them!

Load the boat!! They have a texas Group of guys who come every year and catch 400-500 in about 4 days

Rocks along the ship channel hold em. They eat the algae on the rocks as well. We were catching em last yr and they were throwing up the algae


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Are those the fish with the Human like teeth?

Yes they are


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But they don't bite so your good! ;)


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

They taste great but know way I want part in cleaning 500 of them bandits. I will keep 2-3 nice ones if I catch then but I rarely catch any on plastic.


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Take a nice sized sheephead scale it put in cheese cloth or one of those nylon bags your wife uses for delicate clothes and throw it in water being used for crab or crawfish boil. Let boil for about ten minutes take out and skin just peels off and you're left with meat that taste just like lump crab meat! Give it a try also works with other saltwater species but we find sheaphead are the best.

Do you de head and gut it before you boil it?

Yes dehead and gut first.

Sheepshead
 

The only ones to spell Sheepshead correctly was Clampy and garfish. I bet they know how to cook them too. The only other fish to come close is a snapper.

I remember years ago stopping on the GI bridge on the way down and catching sheepshead so that we would have fish at the camp for the weekend.
;)

Used to target them a little earlier in the winter, with the right conditions we could fill up ever cooler we had with 4-6 lb'er on ultra-light! Darn good eatin, I liked to de-head,gut n scale, season throw on grill...or I guess with smaller ones you could whole fry..oh yea...crab is good bait too

I know many toothless men who would love to have a set of teeth from a sheepshead!

You can catch them on the near shore rigs in the winter.

I fished for them at the jetties with no
Luck twice lately. Anyone having any luck? I must be doing something wrong.